Granddad Trotter
Information Name: :Edward Kitchener Trotter First appearance: :"Big Brother" Last appearance: :Strained Relations Portrayed by: :Lennard Pearce Born: :July 9, 1909 in Peckham Rye, London Died: :early 1985 in Peckham, London Age: :72-76 Occupation: :retired street-lamp lighter, housekeeper for Del and Rodney Spouse(s): :Alice Ball Children: :[[Reg Trotter,Trigger Jr Relatives: :Joan Trotter Sr. (daughter-in-law - deceased) :Reg (son - estranged) :Derek (grandson) :Rodney (grandson) :Albert (brother - deceased) :George (brother) :Jack (brother) :Raquel Turner (future granddaughter-in-law, fiancée of Del Boy) :Cassandra (granddaughter-in-law, wife of Rodney) :Damien (great grandson) :Joan Trotter Jr. (great granddaughter) Profile Edward Kitchener Trotter is the first third main character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Grandad was the grandfather of Derek and Rodney Trotter. Del described Grandad as "an out of work lamp-lighter waiting for gas to make a comeback" that was about as useful as "a pair of sunglasses on a bloke with one ear". Backstory Born in Tobacco Road in the docks, Grandad stated that his earliest memories were of watching the soldiers marching off to World War 1 and witnessing their return after the armistice in 1919. He later spoke of the horror of these experiences with his now famous quote describing the wartime government policy "They promised us homes fit for heroes, we got heroes fit for homes!" In 1924 after leaving school, it would appear that Grandad got a job as a decorator working for the Council, but was sacked after a few days after he wallpapered over a serving hatch. He then began working as a lamp-lighter for the London Gas, Light & Coke Company but by the 1930s, Grandad was unemployed and living with his parents and his three brothers; George, Jack, and Albert in Peabody Buildings, Peckham Rye. In 1936, Grandad and his friend Nobby Clarke ran away to Tangier to join the French Foreign Legion, they were however unsuccessful and ended up working for a weapons smuggler, gun-running into Spain during the Spanish Civil War. The two were caught by the authorities and following interrogation were deported from Spain and all her territories and dominions. Grandad returned to Peckham and joined the dole queues, marrying his wife sometime before the war. During World War 2, Grandad evidently served some time in the army as he told Del he was given a double-headed coin by a Scottish soldier, and his son Reg checked his blood group on his old army records, however Grandad must have been demobbed before the end of the war as he temporarily separated from his wife and had an affair with Trigger's grandmother Alice, while her husband Arthur was still fighting. After the war, Grandad had various short-term jobs before he retired, including working as a security officer at a warehouse in Chingford which Grandad was sacked from after a janitor stole over three hundred briefcases from under his nose. His wife, who apparantly worked as a char-lady in these later years died when Rodney was still young. Personality Despite the fact that Grandad is largely infirm and useless, the Trotters' sense of family loyalty means that he would never be left without a home. He is, however, often treated with a level of light-hearted abuse by Del and Rodney when his docile nature becomes an inconvenience causing deperation. For example, in "The Yellow Peril", Grandad takes a phone call for Del; Del informs him to tell whoever is on the other end that he has gone out. Grandad informs the caller of this, but then looks rather confused; he mutters "I'm not sure" before shouting "Where've you gone to, Del?" Grandad is a terrible cook, he'll often walk into the living room and wail miserably "Del Boy, I've burnt yer bacon!" As mentioned in "Wanted", Del Boy also played an April Fool on Grandad, telling him that the pools had called to say that he'd won half a million pounds. Grandad went to Soho and celebrated, then realised that he didn't do the pools. Grandad's favourite television shows are Crossroads and The Dukes of Hazzard, as revealed in "Homesick" and "May The Force Be With You". He also owns an allotment, as mentioned in "The Russians Are Coming As seen in big brother he as a love of chess However, despite his senility and simplicity, Grandad was more crafty than he let on - wangling himself a bungalow by feigning illness being one of his many talents as seen in "Homesick". Similarly, in "Who's a Pretty Boy?", he conned Del Boy out of £5, informing him the canary he purchased from the pet shop cost him £50, when in reality cost him £45 (Del Boy finds out at the end of the episode, and replied "£45 Pounds?", to which Grandad innocently replies, "What did I say?") And in "A Slow Bus To Chingford", Grandad almost succeeds in conning Del out of £50 by betting him that no-one will turn up for the Trotters' proposed "ethnic bus tours of old London" - and then failing to deliver the tour's publicity leaflets (a ploy only foiled when Del Boy discovers the discarded leaflets in the dust-chute at Nelson Mandela House). "It wasn't me, Del Boy," Grandad whines on being discovered on this occasion; "It was me brain!" Given the task of minding the Trotter flat from the comfort of his much loved armchair, Grandad had an easy life. Grandad was also responsible for the spectacular (and noisy) failure of Del's chandelier cleaning business in "A Touch of Glass". When Lennard Pearce died in 1984, writer John Sullivan chose not to replace him but to write the character's death into the series. A funeral was held for Grandad in "Strained Relations", which saw the Trotter brothers trying to come to terms with the loss of a man who had been such an integral part of their lives. However, such was the nature of the show that amongst the sadness were moments of brilliant comedy. At the funeral, Del sees what he thinks is Grandad's favourite hat, takes it back to the grave and throws it in. However, the audience later discover that the hat belonged to the priest. As Del and Rodney walk away from the grave, the workers begin to fill in the grave; Del turns to them and menacingly says "Oi! Gently." This episode also introduced Grandad's younger brother Albert. It is also known that apart from Albert, Grandad had two more brothers: George Trotter, whom he mentioned in the episode: "The Russians Are Coming"; and an unnamed sibling, presumably the father or mother of Del and Rodney's cousin Stan, who is seen at the funeral with his wife (Stan refers to George by his first name, making it impossible for Stan to be George's son). Trotter, Grandad Category:Alice ball Category:Trigger Jr